Rotor for motors and the like

ABSTRACT

A disk or cup rotor for a low-inertia electric machine has a pair of support bodies of revolution either constituted by inner and outer coplanar annular disks or aligned cylindrical tube sections. An array of elongated conductors is provided on each face of the outer body with the outer ends of these conductors projecting beyond the outer periphery of this outer body. The inner ends of at least half of the conductors terminate in the annular gap between the bodies and are there joined to other such terminating inner ends, whereas the remaining inner ends extend across the gap to the inner body where they form commutator bars that themselves extend beyond the inner periphery of the inner body and are joined at weld nodes to the commutator bars on the other face of the inner body. Several such inner and outer bodies may be stacked to create a multiturn coil effect. The conductors may form simple, closed, or waved windings or combinations of these types of windings with plural support bodies.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending patent application Ser. No. 345,216 filed Mar. 26, 1973 (now U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,788) and is related to copending patent application Ser. No. 496,739 filed concurrently herewith.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a disk or cup rotor having lamellar conductor windings. More particularly this invention concerns such a disk rotor made by stamping and usable in an air-gap direct-current electric machine. In addition this invention relates to a cylindrical cup rotor with lamellar windings usable in radial air-gap direct-current electric machines as well as to the particular windings of such rotors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are known stamped lamellar conductor rotors without a separate commutator, so that the brushes ride directly on the conductors. These rotors have the disadvantage of wearing out quite quickly in the region engaged by the brushes. In addition, due to the relatively numerous conductors in this region, the rotor diameter must be relatively large.

There are also known stamped lamellar conductors carried on two rotors with separate commutators and wherein the conductors constitute extensions of the commutator bars and alternate with conductors having no commutator bars, so that the number of commutator bars represents one-half the number of conductors of a layer, and a section contains two turns. These rotors have the disadvantage that they cannot be used with machines having an even number of pole pairs and, due to the relatively great number of commutator bars, it is necessary to make the disk relatively large in diameter.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved disk or cup rotor having improved lamellar windings.

Another object is the provision of such a rotor having commutator bars which have a longer service life than hitherto possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These objects are attained according to the present invention in a rotor wherein the number of turns per section as well as the ratio m between the number N of the conductors and the number K of commutator bars, is greater than two. Thus the number of commutator bars is reduced so that wider commutator bars may be employed which inherently will wear less. The disk rotor diameter is relatively small also. The windings which are utilized are applicable to any number p of machine pole pairs, by choosing the ratio ##EQU1## with reference to p.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The above and other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial front view of a disk rotor conductor layer;

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of a disk rotor subassembly;

FIG. 3 is a section through a disk rotor with commutators on all the layers;

FIG. 4 is a section through the disk rotor with commutators only on two adjoining layers;

FIG. 5 is a section through a disk rotor with commutators only on the two extreme lateral layers;

FIG. 6 is a partial view of a cut-out layer of a cylindrical cup rotor; and

FIG. 7 is a section through a cylindrical cup rotor with commutators on all the layers.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

According to the invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 - 3, a rotor with stamped lamellar conductors and commutators on all the layers is made up of an even numbers of identical conductive layers 1, separated by (s - 1) insulating layers 2 and 3, each conductive layer containing N lamellar conductors 4 each extended as a commutator 5. The number of turns per section, as well as the ratio m between the conductor number N and the commutator bar number K, on a layer, is greater than two. A number ##EQU2## of conductors on a layer is extended as commutator bars 5, and the balance ##EQU3## of the conductors end at an intermediate level I, and have no commutator bars. The conductors from different layers are welded at ##EQU4## points at the exterior level II, at ##EQU5## points at the interior level III, and at ##EQU6## points at the intermediate level I. The disk rotor has s commutators but the brushes ride only on one layer, which is to be found on the end rotor, and after its partial wear, the rotor is reversed, the commutator array on the opposite side being then used.

According to the invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the rotor with stamped lamellar conductors and commutators only on two adjoining layers is made up of two identical conductive layers 1, as in FIGS. 4 and 5, the other (s-2) conductive layers 6 having its conductors terminating at the intermediate level I without commutator bars. The conductors of the two layers with commutator are welded at ##EQU7## points at the interior level III, and at ##EQU8## points at the intermediate level I. Each of the other (s-2) layers 6 without commutators is welded at N points at the intermediate level I, so that at the intermediate level I the rotor has ##EQU9## solder points or locations. At the exterior level II the conductors are welded in ##EQU10## points.

According to the invention, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotor with stamped lamellar conductors and commutators only on the two extreme lateral or end layers is similar to that shown in FIG. 4, except that the two conductive layers 7 with commutators are not put side by side, but on ends of the rotor. In addition solderings of the IV intermediate level between the conductors of these two layers are placed at a small diameter level than the other solderings of the I intermediate level on the layers without commutators.

The two-layer stamped lamellar-conductor disk rotor is manufactured as follows:

Conductive disks are cut from a conductive foil their diameter being larger than the II exterior level as shown in FIG. 1, the difference constituting the exterior conductive addition 8a. The empty spaces 9 between the conductors 4 and the empty spaces 10 between the commutator bars 5 are circularly stamped in the conductive disks, conductive layers being thus obtained.

On an insulating or substrate annulus 2 there are soldered two conductive layers, one turned by 180° relative to the other, so that the conductor terminals at the III interior and II exterior levels register at their ends, thus forming soldered conductive layers. The insulating layer 2 is made up of two coplanar annular and circular rings, an outer ring 2a between the levels V and VI, and an inner ring 2b between the levels VII and VIII. The assembly thus obtained is stamped out by a punch 11 which fits between the levels I and VIII and has a shape that detaches of the conductors 4a from the commutator bars 5. In this way, on each conductive layer are formed ##EQU11## conductors 4b, which extend into commutator bars and ##EQU12## conductors 4a, without commutators bars, here in a 1:3 ratio. The conductive addition 8a which extends beyond the exterior level II is cut out as well as the conductive addition 8b which extends beyond the interior level III to obtain an unwelded rotor. The connections between the conductors on the two sides are made at ##EQU13## longitudinal solderings at the interior level III, by N longitudinal solderings at the exterior level II, and by ##EQU14## transverse solderings at the intermediate level I, the complete rotor being thus obtained.

According to the invention, the disk rotor with lamellar conductors stamped in four or in an even greater number of layers, s 4, is manufactured in several manners, as follows:

In the version of FIG. 3 the rotor has all its conductive layers provided with a commutator so it is made up of ##EQU15## rotor subassemblies, manufactured in a similar way as in the case of the two-layer rotor of FIG. 2 with the only difference that at the exterior level II, the unwelded conductors terminals on the two layers are shifted so as to overlap on the corresponding conductors terminals of the other rotor subassemblies, to allow them to be soldered in order to weld together. The solder connections at the interior level III and at the intermediate level I are separately performed for each of the rotor subassemblies before assembling the rotor by securing ##EQU16## independent subassemblies with ##EQU17## intermediate insulating layers 3. The solder joints at level II are made after this assembling has been achieved. Thus, at the interior level III ##EQU18## longitudinal solder joints are made, at the intermediate level I ##EQU19## transverse solder joints, and at the exterior level II ##EQU20## longitudinal solder joints.

In FIG. 4, the rotor has stamped lamellar conductors and commutators of the other (s - 2) layers without commutator bars. These conductors end at the intermediate level I. The rotor subassembly made up of the two layers with commutators is identical to that of the FIG. 2; the other ##EQU21## subassemblies have an insulating layer made up of a single circular ring 2a between the levels V and VI, and the cutting-off of the conductive addition which extends beyond the conductor terminal is made at the levels I and II. The conductors of each of the ##EQU22## rotor subassemblies without commutator are longitudinally welded at the intermediate level I, and after the rotor is assembled in exactly the same manner as in FIG. 3, the longitudinal solderings at the exterior level II are made. There follows that the rotor has at the interior level III, ##EQU23## longitudinal solder joints, at the exterior level II, ##EQU24## longitudinal solder joints, and at the intermediate level I, ##EQU25## longitudinal solder joints and ##EQU26## transversal solder joints.

In the version of FIG. 5, the rotor with stamped lamellar conductors and commutators only on the two end conductive layers, has the other (s - 2) intermediate layers similar to those of FIG. 4 all the conductors being without commutator bars, ending at the intermediate level I. The ##EQU27## rotor subassemblies without commutator are manufactured as in FIG. 4, then they are soldered together sandwiching insulating layers 12, thus making up the rotor package. The two conductive layers with commutators, in which the empty spaces between the conductors and the commutator bars are stamped around the rotor package when assembling, are separated by three insulating layers 12 having a circular ring shape, two of them between the levels VI and IX and one of them on each side. A third ring 13 is secured between the levels VII and X. Then a punch 11 strips out around the package between the levels IV and X. The punch has a shape which creates a detachment between the conductors without bars 4a and the commutator bars 5. Thus, the intermediate level IV at which the conductors 4a without commutator bars end is below the intermediate level I of the conductors terminals on the layers without commutators. The conductive addition which extends beyond the exterior II and the interior levels III is cut off. The conductors on the extreme lateral layers provided with commutators are longitudinally welded at the interior level III and transversely connected at the intermediate level IV. Then the conductors at the exterior level II are welded longitudinally together. The weld number 5 at different levels performed upon the rotor is the same as in FIG. 4.

The cup cylinder rotor according to FIGS. 6 and 7 with stamped lamellar conductors is manufactured in the same manner as the disk rotor, except for the following differences:

conductive bands instead of conductive disks are stamped out of a conductive foil;

the stamping-out of the empty spaces between the conductors 9 and between commutator bars 10, which form the conductive layers 1, is performed linearly, not circularly;

because of the conductive layers position on the cylindrical rotor, the empty spaces stamping step, performed by the same punches, is different, so that the conductive layers have various lengths making possible their formation into cylindrical tubes; in this case, the conductors' widths do not differ much in the various layers;

each conductive layer 1 provided with commutator bars is soldered on an insulating layer 14 made up of two insulating bands, one of them 14a between the levels V and VI, and the other 14b between the levels VII and VIII;

the stamping by means of a punch between the levels I and VIII serving to detach the conductors 4a without commutator bars 5, is made linearly, not circularly, and separately on each of the conductive layers soldered with insulating bands;

the cutting-off, regarding the conductive layers provided with commutator bars, of the conductive addition which extends beyond the levels II and III is made along straight, not circular lines, and in addition the edge insulating addition, is cut off parallel to the conductors, and with the end commutator bars respectively so several cut-off layers are obtained.

each conductive layer without commutator bars is bonded to an insulating band 14a between levels V and VI;

the cutting-off, on the conductive layers without commutator bars of the conductive addition which extends beyond the levels I and II is made along straight, not circular lines and, in addition the edge insulating addition is cut off parallel to the two end conductors, so several cut-out layers are obtained;

the two-layer unwelded rotor assembly and the unwelded rotor subassemblies for the rotors with an even (more than two) number of layers, all of them or only two adjoining ones provided with commutators are obtained as follows: on each face of a cylindrical tube two cut-off layers are bonded, the layers having their conductors conversely oriented, and with the insulatings bands situated towards the inside of the cylinder;

the two-layered rotor assembly and the rotor subassemblies for the rotors with an even (more than two) number of layers all provided with commutators, are obtained by welding the conductors at the levels III longitudinally and at I transversely and only for the two layered rotor assemblies at the II level longitudinally;

the rotor assembly with a number of layers greater than two and even, each layer provided with commutators, is obtained by introducing the rotor subassemblies rolled on cylinders of different diameters one into the other and by bonding them to intermediate insulating layers and by welding the conductors at the II level longitudinally;

the rotor subassemblies for the rotors with an even (more than two) number of layers of which only two adjoining layers are provided with commutator bars, are made by forming on the unwelded rotor subassemblies the conductor welds at level I longitudinally;

the assembly with an even (more than two) number of layers of which only two layers are provided with commutator bars is obtained by introducing the rotor subassemblies with and without commutators rolled on different diameters cylinders one into the other; by bonding them to intermediate insulating layers so that the commutators will be accessible, and by welding the conductors at the II level longitudinally;

the rotor package for the rotors with a number of layers which is even greater than two and of which only the two end layers are provided with commutators is obtained by introducing the rotor subassemblies without commutator one into the other rolled on different diameters cylinders and bonding them to insulating layers.

the rotor assembly with an even (more than two) number of layers, of which only the two end layers are provided with commutators, is obtained by rolling the two cut-off layers provided with commutators which have different lengths and different conductor spacing onto insulating layers, on the two extreme sides of the rotor package and by soldering together conductors on the extreme layers at the levels III longitudinally and at IV transversely and soldering the conductors on all the layers at the II level longitudinally.

The number of welds at different levels of the cylindrical cup rotor for each embodiment is the same with that of the disk rotors for the similar configurations.

In the cylindrical cup rotors, no matter what the number of layers provided with commutators, one uses only one commutator which remains accessible.

According to the invention, the disk and cylindrical cup rotors with two layers of stamped lamellar conductors can have windings with the turns number per section in the ratio m = N/K, always greater than two of a simply waved closed type, whose series-connected conductors make up two paths of current in parallel, 2a = 2, or multiple wave type, whose series-connected conductors make up 2a > 2 paths of current in parallel, double waved 2a = 4, triple waved 2a = 6, etc. 

We claim:
 1. A rotor comprising:a stack of coaxial annular flat insulating outer rings aligned with each other and each having a pair of opposite faces, said stack of outer rings having an outer periphery and an inner periphery; respective arrays of elongated and generally parallel flat conductors on each of said faces, each of said conductors having an outer end extending beyond said outer periphery and joined therebeyond to an outer end of another conductor, at least every second conductor of each array having an inner end extending inwardly beyond said inner periphery and joined to an inner end of another conductor; a flat inner annular ring coaxially and spacedly surrounded by said stack and defining a gap therewith; and commutator bars formed on opposite faces of said inner ring and of a width greater than that of the conductors at their widest points, the joined inner ends of the conductors lying in said gap, said bars being connected to respective nonjoined inner ends of the conductors.
 2. The rotor defined in claim 1 wherein the conductors of each array on each outer ring are joined at their outer ends to the ends of conductors of another array on another outer ring.
 3. The rotor defined in claim 1 wherein said conductors are joined at weld nodes. 